Politically Incorrect – The Canadian Government is Constitutionally Challenged

By
Chris Clay
on January 3, 1997

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14 affidavits have nowbeen filed from the following people:?

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??? Dr PatriciaErickson, Senior Scientist with the Addiction Research Foundation,adjunct Professor in the Department of Sociology, and the Director of thegraduate Collaborative Program in Alcohol, Tobacco and Other PsychoactiveSubstances at the University of Toronto. She is the author of a numberof books including Cannabis Criminals: The Social Effects of Punishmenton Drug Users (ARF Books, 1980), as well as co-editor of Illicit Drugsin Canada (Nelson Canada, 1988). She is also a founding member of the CanadianFoundation for Drug Policy.?

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Bruce Alexander, Professorof Psychology at Simon Fraser University. Professor Alexander specializesin the study of drug addiction and drug use, and authored Peaceful Measures:Canada’s Way Out of the War on Drugs (University of Toronto Press, 1990).He is also a founding member of the Canadian Foundation for Drug Policy.??

Neil Boyd, Professor of Criminologyat Simon Fraser University and author of High Society: Licit and IllicitDrugs in Canada.?

Professor Eric Single, Directorof Policy and Research with the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse, Professorof Preventive Medicine and Biostatistics at the University of Toronto.He is also a founding member of the Canadian Foundation for Drug Policy.?

Dr Diane M Riley, AssistantProfessor at the Department of Behavioural Science, University of Toronto,Policy Analyst at the Canadian Foundation for Drug Policy, former SeniorPolicy Analyst with the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse. She has authoreda number of papers on cannabis.?

James Giffen, Retired Professorof Sociology at the University of Toronto, former consultant to the AddictionResearch Foundation. Professor Giffen is the senior author of the extensivebook Panic and Indifference: The Politics of Canada’s Drug Law (CanadianCenter on Substance Abuse, 1991).?

Marie Andree Bertrand, retiredProfessor of Criminology at the University of Montreal, President of theInternational Anti-Prohibitionist League in Brussels, member of Canada’sCommission of Inquiry into the Non-Medical Use of Drugs (the LeDain Commission,1969 – 1973).?

Heinz Lehmann, MD, Psychiatristand Professor Emeritus at McGill University. Dr Lehmann was awarded theAlaska Award for psychopharmacological research, as well as the Order ofCanada. In 1969, he was appointed to be a Commissioner for the Commissionof Inquiry into the Non-Medical Use of Drugs (the LeDain Commission).?

Dr Lester Grinspoon, AssociateProfessor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. Dr Grinspoon has authoredover 29 articles on various aspects of the use of cannabis, and was awardedthe Alfred Lindesmith Award for Achievement in the Field of Scholarship.He has written two books on cannabis, Marihuana Reconsidered (Harvard UniversityPress, 1971) and Marihuana: The Forbidden Medicine (Yale University Press,1993), and he edits the Harvard Mental Health Letter.?

Robert Randall, MA, Presidentof the Alliance for Cannabis Therapeutics. Mr. Randall was the first personin the US to secure legal access to medical marijuana. He has lecturedextensively before such groups as the American Bar Association, and hastestified before the US House of Representatives and many state committees.He has edited six books, including Muscle Spasm, Pain and Marijuana Therapy,and Marijuana as Medicine: Initial Steps.?

Dr John P Morgan, Professorof Pharmacology at CUNY Medical School. Dr Morgan has studied cannabisand its effects for more than 25 years, and has written and published eightarticles pertaining to its use, including Exposing Marijuana Myths: A Reviewof the Scientific Evidence (The Lindesmith Centre, 1995).?

Gero Leson, PhD, Environmentalconsultant and researcher with the Nova Institute in both Germany and theUS. Mr Leson has extensively researched the technical, economic and environmentalcharacteristics of industrial hemp, and has co-authored a number of publications.?

Gordon Scheifele, PhD, ResearchScientist for the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture at Ridgetown College.Mr Scheifele is one of the few modern Canadian researchers permitted togrow and experiment with industrial hemp.

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Politically Incorrect:

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The Canadian Governmentis

Constitutionally Challenged

ByChris Clay

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The Arrest

A society that robs an individual ofthe product of his effort, or enslaves him, or attempts to limit the freedomof his mind, or compels him to act against his own rational judgement…a society that sets up a conflict between its edicts and the requirementsof man’s nature is not a society, but a mob held together by institutionalizedgang-rule.

– Ayn Rand

??? One morning this pastDecember, as I was preparing for the busy Christmas holidays, I was rudelyinterrupted by an armed cohort of peace officers that were preparing tobreak down the door to my home, to look for flowers.

??? They swiftly searchedour quiet housein the suburbs, and upon finding a single gram of driedmarijuana, hauled me off to prison for four days.

??? Simultaneously, HempNation employee Sarah Delaney opened my retail store, only to find a gangof police officers waiting patiently to take her to jail for traffickingin a narcotic.

??? The police were notlooking for cocaine, LSD, heroin or PCP. These cops invaded my home andbusiness, arrested Sarah and I, and seized our Christmas stock all becausewe sold marijuana seeds.

??? I found this very surprising,since Hemp Nation has openly sold seeds on many occasions for two years.In fact, last summer one cop even mentioned to me that he liked our newfull-page seed ad in a local magazine.

??? We had a good relationshipwith the police, especially since they solved a break-in and returned thestolen pipes and bongs. So why this sudden harassment? Why did the policedivert scarce resources to spend an entire day looting my store, whilea bank robbery was being committed only a block away?

??? The answer lies ina legal challenge that I am involved in with Toronto Osgoode Hall law professorAlan Young and his associate Paul Burstein.

The Challenge

? “Canadians have a constitutionalright to make autonomous decisions with respect to their bodily integrityand security… It is a violation of the principles of fundamental justicefor Parliament to criminalize conduct which is relatively harmless.”

– Professor Alan Young

??? In May 1995, I was arrestedfor the first time because I began selling small cannabis plants in myLondon, Ontario hemp store. After selling four plants, the drug squad arrived,laid all kinds of charges and seized my inventory.

??? Fortunately, I hadmet Professor Young once before and he had indicated that I should contacthim if I ever ran into legal problems. Several days after my release, Idrove to Toronto to meet with Paul and Alan, and they were both very interestedin using my case as a vehicle to demonstrate that Canada’s cannabis lawsare unconstitutional. Alan explained to me that he had been preparing forsuch a legal challenge for more than ten years.

??? Not much happened fora while. I restocked the store, started a legal defense fund, and madesome minor court appearances. However, news of the challenge spread throughthe legal system, and finally the federal Department of Justice steppedin to directly handle the case. Soon after, they offered me a sweet deal:plead guilty to possession of marijuana, receive a discharge, and all theother charges would be forgotten. In exchange, I would forfeit the seizedinventory and agree to drop the constitutional challenge.

??? I flatly refused, andthe momentum has been building ever since.

The Witnesses

“If the truth can be told so as tobe understood, it will be believed!”

– William Blake

??? Professor Young hasspent the last year contacting scientists and researchers in the fieldsof marijuana and drug use from across North America. So far, 14 witnesseshave already filed affidavits in support of the challenge, and more arebeing prepared. After reading the testimony, presented so clearly and conciselyby such respected professionals, I find it impossible to believe a reasonablejudge can ignore such overwhelming evidence.

??? If enough money israised, all of the people listed in the sidebar will likely testify inperson at the constitutional challenge.

??? If more money is raised,additional witnesses will be called. Possibilities include William F Buckleyand former prime minister Pierre Trudeau.

The Politics

“If you are the big tree, we are thesmall axe.”

– Bob Marley

??? During my time in theBig House this past December, aside from watching TV and reading trashmagazines, I had a chance to reflect on recent events. I haven’t had achance to relax like that for some time, so I didn’t mind chillin’ fora few days.

??? I quickly realizedthat I was in jail again not because the local police had suddenly deemedcannabis seeds to be a deadly narcotic; rather, they were acting underorders from the Department of Justice to turn up the heat. I will soonreceive another offer from the Feds, encouraging me to drop the challengein exchange for an easy way out.

??? Thus my freedom wastaken from me yet again, not as a direct result of my criminal behaviour,but because the state senses a threat to their proud tradition of cannabisprohibition. There has never been such a comprehensive legal challengeof Canada’s marijuana laws, and most of our witnesses have even workedfor the government at one time or another.

??? These days, everyoneis fed up with prohibition, from senators to scientists, from teachersto taxi cab drivers, from grandparents to grandchildren. Statistics Canadaconfirmed again in 1994 that over 69% of Canadians support legalizationor decriminalization of cannabis, and yet the politicians simply aren’tlistening.

??? Professor Young hasbeen preparing to crush cannabis prohibition for more than a decade. Ihave been fighting these laws since opening Canada’s first hemp store in1993. Many of the witnesses have been calling for cannabis reform sincethe $3.5 million LeDain Commission recommended decriminalization back in1973. These laws are irrational and unjust, and change is about 74 yearsoverdue.

??? If nothing else comesfrom this trial, we hope to educate Canadians and spark an honest nationwidedebate on the marijuana issue, free from the hysterical myths espousedin the past. Finally, we hope to remind the government that they have brokena basic equation that they must follow; government exists to protect ourrights, not violate them.

“It is not true that the function of law is to regulate our consciences,our ideas, our wills, our education, our opinions, our work, our trade,our talents, or our pleasures. The function of the law is to protect thefree exercise of these rights, and to prevent any person from interferingwith the free exercise of these same rights by any other person.”

– Frederic Bastiat

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For More Information :

If you would like to support the constitutional challenge, send a chequeor money order, payable to The Hemp Nation Constitutional Challenge to: